OSS, The Netherlands--BioNovion announced today a license & collaboration agreement with Genmab A/S to jointly discover and develop multiple bispecific antibody products for immune oncology therapy.
Re-activation of immunity to cancer using therapeutic antibodies has become an important new treatment paradigm for cancer patients. Nowadays, application of immune checkpoint inhibitors is being explored by a number of companies, in multiple cancer indications, both as single agents and in various combinations.
Under this agreement, BioNovion and Genmab will contribute panels of antibodies for the creation of bispecific antibody products using Genmab's DuoBody® platform technology. If the companies jointly select a product candidate for clinical development, development costs will be shared equally, with each party retaining a 50% share of the product rights. If one of the companies decides not to move a therapeutic candidate forward, the other company is entitled to continue developing the product at predefined licensing terms. The agreement also includes terms which allow the parties to opt out of joint development at key points in each product's clinical development. This commercial agreement follows a July 2014 research collaboration between Genmab and BioNovion.
"Combining BioNovion's expertise in immune oncology and its proprietary immune modulating antibodies with Genmab's bispecific DuoBody platform and antibody know-how creates a very powerful partnership that is ideally positioned to lead the discovery of next-generation bispecific concepts in immune oncology." (Wiebe Olijve, CEO BioNovion)
About BioNovion: BioNovion is a Dutch biotech company specialized in immune oncology antibody discovery. The company's B-cell selection platform combined with functional assays exquisitely allows the full exploration of immunoglobulin diversity in (humanized) mice and has consistently shown to deliver best-in-class antibodies. BioNovion scientists have a strong track record in antibody discovery and immune oncology programs. For more information visitwww.bionovion.com.
Contacts
BioNovion
Dr. Andrea van Elsas
Chief Scientific Officer
T: +31 88 0121401
M: +31 6 54218465
E: [email protected]